Thursday, September 18, 2014

food adventures | toronto

there were 3 big reasons for going to toronto: to celebrate our anniversary, to see some movies and to eat.

the first thing i do when i know we're going to a new city is to research places and things to eat. i got two great lists of restaurants from friends and used yelp to find places when we were out and about.

we ate at a chain restaurant called jack aster's after going to a screening late thursday night. it was open at 12:30 (which was 9:30pm our time) and it had beer.

we like to go local so i had a canadian and bobby had a steam whistle - which quickly became my go to beer.

they are known for their burgers but we both went with chicken sandwiches instead and a very spicy tomato soup.

for breakfast we typically had coffee and a breakfast sandwich from second cup down the street from our hotel. nothing special but helped us quickly get on with our day.

the festival street was closed off to traffic so some restaurants offered "festival seating" right on the street with special menus. we ate at fred's not here on friday afternoon.

i couldn't pass up the lobster and crab soup. i love me some puffed pastry.

and the grilled vegetable flatbread pizza with goat cheese. bobby had the curry shrimp.

and two more local beers.

lots of meals prior to the screening were spent like this. he's working and i'm people watching.

based on a recommendation from a friend we went to momfuku. seriously the best name for a restaurant. it's a noodle bar with a milkbar and it's crazy good.

we ordered pork buns, dan dan mein,

and the momofuku ramen with pork belly and an egg!

and for dessert from the milkbar was an order of cereal milk. it's soft serve ice cream that tastes like the milk you have after you've eaten all your cereal. kind of genius.

saturday after the screening and after party we had dinner with some friends. trying to get a table at 9:30 on a saturday night during the film festival was not going to happen. so we went back to the restaurant where we had the party and politely asked for a table and were told they were completely booked. so our dear friend allen talked to the manager and reminded her that we just had the after party here and bingo a table was available... complete with complimentary champagne and cocktail.

the steak and mashed potatoes were incredible.

loved this sign right over our table.

we met up with some friends from school on sunday who were also at tiff with his company. we are at such a small school yet three of our families were in toronto for the festival. they have been to the festival before, were staying longer than us to watch a lot more movies, so it was fun to share some of their experiences over chinese food.

the best meal we had was at jacob's steakhouse on sunday night after the second screening of the movie. it was a recommendation that we stumbled upon and were not exactly dressed for but no one seemed to mind.

table side caesar salad was delicious. we laughed when she asked us if it was ok to put bacon on it. sister please - bacon is always a yes.

and you can't go to canada without trying poutine. their upscale version had potatoes fried in duck fat with foie gras chicken gravy and cheese curds. unbelievable, but so heavy.

i ordered the fish and bobby ordered a canadian steak.

it came with 3 different types of salt and 3 different sauces. my favorite was the blue cheese spread and bobby was a fan of the soy and ginger sauce.

bobby had spotted the gelato cart outside of another restaurant. so on our walk home we each got a scoop. nocciola is my favorite.

monday we wanted to get some local coffee so we were directed to little nicky's, a quaint little shop that sells coffee and house blend espresso drinks and they make their own mini donuts.

best coffee of the trip and the donuts and nutella biscotti were perfect. the kids would have loved this place.

our final toronto meal was at the gabardine in the finical district as we were rushing from one screening to another. with mismatched plates and cups, a very hipster vibe and some unique menu choices i fell in love with this place.

bobby had the chinese bbq pork sandwich.

and my choice was the fish po'boy with caramelized onions for the win.

it was a lovely spot for lunch and a nice way to bid adieu to toronto.

and now to start the whole30 program all over again. too much good food!